LC 1 elections: 15 things you need to note about the update of the village residents' registers

As the country prepares to elect local council representatives on July 10, here are the 15 key points you need to note about the village registers:

1. The Electoral Commission appointed Friday 22nd to Monday 25th June 2018, as the period during which willing village residents will register to participate in Administrative Unit (LC I) , and Women Councils and Committees Elections.

2. During this period, eligible and willing residents shall turn up in person at the registration centre within the village of residence to register.

3. This is not a fresh registration of all village residents across the country, but rather a compilation/update exercise, to enable the Commission register eligible residents of 18 years and above, who are not yet registered in the Residents Register, as well as those who were not registered before, during the exercise conducted in October 2017 for purpose of Administrative Units (LC I & LC II) and Women Councils and Committees Elections;

4. Accordingly, persons who registered during the exercise conducted in October 2017 and were successfully verified as residents will not be required to register again during this compilation/update exercise. This is because the Electoral Commission already has their particulars in the Village Residents and Village Women’s Registers.

5. However, the Commission received a total number of 1,138 new villages which have been added on the list of existing villages. This means that residents in these new villages who had registered in the old villages and those who could have transferred residence are advised to register in their current place of residence.

6. The registration exercise shall cover the compilation/update of two registers: (1) the Village Council Register, for purposes of electing the Village (LC I) Chairperson and approval of members of the Village Executive Committee and (2) the Village Women’s Council Register for purposes of electing the Village Women’s Committee;

7. Willing village residents and willing village women residents shall be registered in separate register books provided by the Electoral Commission.

8. The willing women residents will register in both registers and participate in both elections.

9. The registration exercise shall be free of charge, and will be conducted from 7:00am until 6:00pm on each of the appointed dates, including weekends;

10. A person must fulfill the following requirements in order to be registered in the Village Council Register: must be a citizen of Uganda, who is ordinarily resident in the Village of registration, and must be eighteen (18) years of age and above at the time of registration.

11. In the case of the Village Women’s Council Register, the person must be a female and a citizen of Uganda of eighteen (18) years and above, and must be ordinarily resident in the village of registration.

12. A person appearing for registration shall be required to provide the following particulars to the Village Election Official: names, National Id Card, National Id Number or National Id Application Number, age, gender, and village of residence.

13. The display of the updated Village Council Register and the Village Women’s Council Register will be conducted from Tuesday 26th to Wednesday 27th June 2018, from 8:00am to 6:00pm on each day, at the designated public/open place in the respective village.

14. During the display, voters are urged to turn up in large numbers and check for the correctness of their particulars, such as names, National ID Number or Application ID Number, age, gender and village of residence.

15. Residents will be able to report to the Village Election Official the following categories of persons for removal from the Registers: the dead, the under-aged, and those who do not reside in the village.

The author is the Spokesperson of the Electoral Commission